Influenza

High-dose influenza vaccine is 24 percent more effective than the standard-dose vaccine in protecting persons ages 65 and over against influenza illness and its complications. Read More

Vanderbilt University and Medical Center faculty, staff, students and volunteers will once again have the opportunity to be part of a mass flu vaccination event that three years ago more than doubled the current world record for the total number of vaccinations given in an eight-hour period. Read More

Compounds developed at Vanderbilt University may offer a new way to block influenza infection. Read More

High-dose influenza vaccine is 24 percent more effective than the standard-dose vaccine in protecting persons ages 65 and over against influenza illness and its complications. Read More

(Vanderbilt University) Potentially “game-changing” research at Vanderbilt University on infectious diseases, population health and health policy will be showcased during two interactive presentations May 15 and May 22. A segment of the Flexner Discovery Lecture Series, the new “Vanderbilt Cutting-edge Discovery” discussions are highlights of recent presentations… Read More

Influenza and parainfluenza infections – but not other respiratory viruses – increase the risk of acquiring pneumococcal bacteria, the most common cause of severe pneumonia. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU) is one of nine U.S. sites funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to test the effectiveness of a vaccine to protect against the H7N9 bird flu that emerged in China this spring. Read More

Vanderbilt research shows that human antibodies to the natural strain of H5N1 also protected against a dangerous lab-created airborne strain developed several years ago by scientists in the Netherlands and at the University of Wisconsin. Read More

A worrisome new avian influenza virus, called H7N9, emerged this spring in Eastern China. Read More

Vanderbilt University and Medical Center faculty, staff, students and volunteers will once again have the opportunity to be part of a mass flu vaccination event that two years ago more than doubled the current world record for the total number of vaccinations given in an eight-hour period. Read More

Research in the last two years to examine the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine has raised public doubt about the flu shot's effectiveness. But two Vanderbilt researchers co-wrote an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently to help balance the current debate. Read More

A careful look at how the body’s natural defenses disarm virulent strains of influenza hints at the possibility of a way to fight the flu. Read More

As is the case throughout the country, this year’s flu season in Middle Tennessee is hitting elderly people particularly hard. Read More

While this year’s flu season appears to be slowing down in some parts of the country, we’re not out of the woods yet, caution officials at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Read More

As the number of influenza cases increases throughout Middle Tennessee, the Department of Infection Control and Prevention and the Occupational Health Clinic (OHC) are urging all faculty and staff to get an influenza vaccination. Read More

Keiron Kennedy, M.D., receives an influenza shot from Sharon Holley, DNP, CNM, during the Flulapalooza mass vaccination event, which took place Wednesday and Thursday.  At the end of the first day, approximately 5,589 staff, faculty, students and volunteers had been vaccinated. (Photo by Joe… Read More

Statins, traditionally known as cholesterol-lowering drugs, may reduce mortality among patients hospitalized with influenza, according to a new study released online by The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Read More

Antibodies to the 2009 H1N1 influenza strain reveal new insights into how antibody diversity forms and functions, with possible implications for designing flu vaccines. Read More

This Week on VUCast: Why a Vanderbilt disease expert says the medical thriller “Contagion” may be closer to reality than you think [ watch full video of Dr. Creech and more information about vaccines ] Why it’s worth going to… Read More

Vanderbilt researchers are seeking healthy adults ages 18-49 for a study testing a new vaccine against H5N1 influenza, a strain which has the potential to be the next pandemic flu virus. Read More